U.S. patent number 11,181,405 [Application Number 16/585,765] was granted by the patent office on 2021-11-23 for clamp-type ultrasonic flow measuring apparatus with a mounter for press tight fit of a transmission/reception unit to the measuring pipe.
This patent grant is currently assigned to RYUSOK CO., LTD.. The grantee listed for this patent is RYUSOK CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to Eiichi Murakami, Kohei Sakiyama.
United States Patent |
11,181,405 |
Murakami , et al. |
November 23, 2021 |
Clamp-type ultrasonic flow measuring apparatus with a mounter for
press tight fit of a transmission/reception unit to the measuring
pipe
Abstract
Transmission/reception units 1 are fixed to both sides of a pipe
body P in a clamp type. The transmission/reception unit 1 has a
mounter 3 provided with a through-hole 3c and a
transmitter/receiver 4 inserted into the through-hole 3c. The
transmitter/receiver 4 has a surface contact portion 4a, an element
fixing portion 4b provided with an installation hole 4c, and a
ultrasound transmitting body 4e installed in the installation hole
4c. A transmitting/receiving element 4h is attached on a top
surface 4g of the ultrasound transmitting body 4e. When the mounter
3 is fastened, a force applied to the mounter 3 is transmitted to
the surface contact portion 4a such that the surface contact
portion 4a comes into close contact with the pipe body P, therefore
an ultrasonic beam is transmitted smoothly between the pipe body P
and the transmitting/receiving element 4h.
Inventors: |
Murakami; Eiichi (Tokyo,
JP), Sakiyama; Kohei (Tokyo, JP) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
RYUSOK CO., LTD. |
Okinawa-ken |
N/A |
JP |
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Assignee: |
RYUSOK CO., LTD. (Okinawa-ken,
JP)
|
Family
ID: |
1000005947765 |
Appl.
No.: |
16/585,765 |
Filed: |
September 27, 2019 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20200132526 A1 |
Apr 30, 2020 |
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Foreign Application Priority Data
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Oct 26, 2018 [JP] |
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JP2018-201807 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G01F
1/662 (20130101); G01F 1/667 (20130101); G01F
15/063 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G01F
1/66 (20060101); G01F 15/06 (20060101) |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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H10213467 |
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Aug 1998 |
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JP |
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2001-108499 |
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Apr 2001 |
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JP |
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2003065818 |
|
Mar 2003 |
|
JP |
|
3841599 |
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Nov 2006 |
|
JP |
|
2013174567 |
|
Sep 2013 |
|
JP |
|
Primary Examiner: Patel; Harshad R
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Li & Cai Intellectual Property
(USA) Office
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An ultrasonic flow measuring apparatus comprising: a pair of
transmission/reception units disposed to interpose a pipe body in
which a fluid flows; and fixing means for fixing the pair of
transmission/reception units to the pipe body; wherein the pair of
the transmission/reception units has respective internally-provided
ultrasound transmitting/receiving elements, so that a flow rate of
the fluid is measured by the ultrasound transmitting/receiving
elements alternately transmitting and receiving ultrasonic beams
propagating in the pipe body in an oblique direction between the
transmission/reception units, wherein the pair of the
transmission/reception units is made of a synthetic resin, and each
of the transmission/reception units has a mounter that comes into
contact with an outer surface of the pipe body so as to perform
mounting and a transmitter/receiver that is inserted into the
mounter and is internally provided in the mounter, wherein the
transmitter/receiver each includes the ultrasound
transmitting/receiving element respectively, wherein the mounter
has an elongated piece-shaped contact portion coming into contact
with the outer surface of the pipe body in a longitudinal direction
and a through-hole into which the transmitter/receiver is inserted,
wherein the contact portion has both ends that are slightly raised
upward and bent upward as the entire contact portion in the
longitudinal direction, and the through hole is provided at a
center part of the contact portion; wherein the
transmitter/receiver has a plate-shaped surface contact portion
which comes into surface contact with the pipe body, and an element
fixing portion in which the ultrasound transmitting/receiving
element is installed and is fixed, wherein the surface contact
portion projects to a side of the pipe body more than the contact
portion of the mounter, the element fixing portion has an end
surface that comes into contact with the pipe body to serve as a
part of the surface contact portion, and a force transmitting body
being in contact with a part of the mounter is provided at the
element fixing portion, wherein the fixing means are disposed on
both the ends of the contact portion of each mounter in the
longitudinal direction, and wherein, when the pair of
transmission/reception units symmetrically abuts both sides of the
pipe body, each transmitter/receiver of the pair of
transmission/reception units is disposed at opposite positions via
the pipe body, and fixing of each mounter of the pair of
transmission/reception units to the pipe body is performed by
fastening both the ends of each contact portions floated from the
outer surface of the pipe body with the fixing means, each mounter
is strongly pressed in the vicinity of a center thereof to the pipe
body, a strong pressing force generated through the fixing is
transmitted to each transmitter/receiver via each force
transmitting body, and each surface contact portion is strongly
pressed to the pipe body.
2. The ultrasonic flow measuring apparatus according to claim 1,
wherein a soft elastic member is attached on the surface contact
portion disposed along the pipe body.
3. The ultrasonic flow measuring apparatus according to claim 2,
wherein the element fixing portion of the transmitter/receiver is
provided with an installation hole, a columnar ultrasound
transmitting body having an end surface and a lead wire, the end
surface is flush with the surface contact portion and the
ultrasound transmitting/receiving element mounted on an opposite
surface is installed and fixed in the installation hole, and the
lead wire is connected to the ultrasound transmitting/receiving
element and is laid out to an outside.
4. The ultrasonic flow measuring apparatus according to claim 1,
wherein the strong pressing force applied to the force transmitting
body of the transmitter/receiver from the mounter by the fixing
means is transmitted to the surface contact portion of the
transmitter/receiver, the surface contact portion being positioned
below the force transmitting body.
5. The ultrasonic flow measuring apparatus according to claim 1,
wherein the element fixing portion of the transmitter/receiver is
provided with an installation hole, a columnar ultrasound
transmitting body having an end surface and a lead wire, the end
surface is flush with the surface contact portion and the
ultrasound transmitting/receiving element mounted on an opposite
surface is installed and fixed in the installation hole, and the
lead wire is connected to the ultrasound transmitting/receiving
element and is laid out to an outside.
Description
FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE
The present invention relates to a clamp-type ultrasonic flow
measuring apparatus that propagates an ultrasonic beam in a fluid
passing in a pipe body and measures a flow rate of the fluid.
BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE
A clamp-type ultrasonic flow measuring apparatus in which
ultrasound transmitting/receiving elements are disposed around a
pipe body by using a mounting jig is described in JP-A-10-221137,
for example.
SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE
In a clamp-type ultrasonic flow measuring apparatus, relative
positions of ultrasound transmitting/receiving elements have to be
adjusted depending on a diameter or a thickness of a pipe body when
the clamp-type ultrasonic flow measuring apparatus is used. Hence,
in order for an ultrasonic beam to be easily transmitted between
the pipe body and one of the ultrasound transmitting/receiving
elements, the ultrasound transmitting/receiving elements need to
come into close contact with the pipe body with a strong pressing
force.
However, the measuring device in JP-A-10-221137 has a very large
size because several frames are disposed around the pipe body in
order to adjust the ultrasound transmitting/receiving elements to
preferred relative positions and press the transmitting/receiving
elements to the pipe body with a strong pressing force.
An object of the invention is to solve such an above-described
problem and provide an ultrasonic flow measuring apparatus in which
it is possible to press an ultrasound transmitting/receiving
element to a pipe body with a strong fixing force in a simple
configuration.
An ultrasonic flow measuring apparatus relating to the invention
for achieving the object described above includes a pair of
transmission/reception units disposed to interpose a pipe body in
which a fluid flows. The pair of the transmission/reception units
has respective internally-provided ultrasound
transmitting/receiving elements. A flow rate of the fluid is
measured by the transmitting/receiving elements alternately
transmitting and receiving ultrasonic beams propagating in the pipe
body in an oblique direction between the transmitting/receiving
elements of the transmission/reception units disposed at different
positions along the pipe body. The transmission/reception unit has
a mounter that comes into contact with an outer surface of the pipe
body so as to perform mounting and a transmitter/receiver that is
inserted into the mounter and is internally provided in the
mounter. The mounter has a contact portion with the outer surface
of the pipe body, a through-hole into which the
transmitter/receiver is inserted, and fixing means for performing
fixing to the pipe body. The transmitter/receiver has a
plate-shaped surface contact portion which comes into surface
contact with the pipe body, a force transmitting portion which is
in contact with a part of the mounter, and an element fixing
portion in which the transmitting/receiving element is installed,
which is inserted into the through-hole and is fixed therein, and
which has an end surface that serves as a part of the surface
contact portion and comes into surface contact with the pipe body.
When fixing of the mounter to the pipe body is performed by the
fixing means, a fixing force generated through the fixing is
transmitted to the transmitter/receiver via the force transmitting
portion, and the surface contact portion is strongly pressed to the
pipe body.
According to an ultrasonic flow measuring device of the invention,
even in the case of a clamp type in which ultrasound
transmitting/receiving elements are disposed on both sides of a
pipe body, the ultrasound transmitting/receiving elements can come
into reliably close contact with the pipe body with a strong
pressing force in a simple configuration.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a state in which a pair of
transmission/reception units is fixed to a pipe body.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view of one transmission/reception unit when
viewed from a side.
FIG. 3 is a front view of a mounter.
FIG. 4 is a plan view.
FIG. 5 is a bottom view.
FIG. 6 is a side view.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a transmitter/receiver when viewed
from above.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the transmitter/receiver when
viewed from below.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an ultrasound transmitting
body.
FIG. 10 is a sectional view of the transmission/reception unit
before mounting to the pipe body is performed.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS
The invention is described on the basis of examples illustrated in
the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a state in which a pair of
transmission/reception units is fixed to a pipe body, and FIG. 2 is
a sectional view of one transmission/reception unit when viewed
from a side.
A pair of transmission/reception units 1 made of a synthetic resin
as a main material is fastened on both sides of a pipe body P in
which a fluid to be measured flows, with a center axis of the pipe
body being interposed between the pair of transmission/reception
units, by two rubber, synthetic resin, or metal fastening bands 2
having an elastic force as fixing means, and the
transmission/reception units are fixed in a clamp type. The two
transmission/reception units 1 have the same shape and are disposed
at bilaterally symmetrical positions on both sides of the pipe body
P. The transmission/reception unit 1 has a mounter 3 that is fixed
to the pipe body P and a transmitter/receiver 4 that is inserted
into the mounter 3 and is internally provided in the mounter and is
movable with respect to the mounter 3.
FIG. 3 is a front view of the mounter 3, FIG. 4 is a plan view
thereof, FIG. 5 is a bottom view thereof, and FIG. 6 is a side view
thereof. The mounter 3 has an elongated piece-shaped contact
portion 3a that comes into contact with an outer surface of the
pipe body P in a longitudinal direction and is formed to have a
contact surface being disposed along the outer surface of the pipe
body P and having an arc-shaped cross-section. Both ends of the
contact portion 3a are slightly raised upward and are slightly bent
upward as the entire contact portion 3a. The contact portion 3a is
provided with a trapezoidal portion 3b at a center part thereof,
the trapezoidal portion 3b is provided with a through-hole 3c
having substantially the same size as that of the
transmitter/receiver 4, and the transmitter/receiver 4 is to be
inserted into the through-hole 3c.
The through-hole 3c is provided with a substantially rectangular
lower opening portion 3d in a lower portion thereof, the lower
opening portion facing the contact portion 3a, and a small-recessed
portion 3e is provided on the periphery of the lower opening
portion 3d. In addition, the through-hole 3c is provided with an
upper opening portion 3f in an upper portion thereof, and a
peripheral edge portion 3g extending in an inward direction is
formed to surround the upper opening portion 3f. Further, the
contact portion 3a is provided with grooves 3h on both end portions
in the longitudinal direction, the grooves being formed to dispose
the fastening bands 2.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the transmitter/receiver 4 when
viewed from above. FIG. 8 is a perspective view thereof when viewed
from below. A substantially rectangular plate-shaped surface
contact portion 4a in a lower portion of the transmitter/receiver 4
has a size sufficient to cover the lower opening portion 3d of the
mounter 3 and has a size and a thickness fitted to enter the
recessed portion 3e on the periphery of the lower opening portion
3d. Hence, the surface contact portion 4a is disposed along the
pipe body P and has an arc-shaped cross-section.
An element fixing portion 4b that is inserted into the through-hole
3c of the mounter 3 is formed in an obliquely upward direction from
a center portion of the surface contact portion 4a of the
transmitter/receiver 4, the element fixing portion 4b is provided
with an installation hole 4c therein, and the installation hole 4c
is open to the surface contact portion 4a. In addition, a shaft 4d
is provided as a force transmitting body in a short direction on an
outer side of an intermediate portion of the element fixing portion
4b, and both end portions of the shaft 4d are to be in contact with
an underside of the peripheral edge portion 3g on the periphery of
the upper opening portion 3f. Hence, a columnar ultrasound
transmitting body 4e made of a synthetic resin illustrated in FIG.
9 is installed in the installation hole 4c of the element fixing
portion 4b in an upward direction from the surface contact portion
4a.
The ultrasound transmitting body 4e matches a shape of the
installation hole 4c of the element fixing portion 4b, is fitted
into the installation hole 4c, and is fixed therein with an
adhesive. An underside 4f as an end surface of the ultrasound
transmitting body 4e in a fitted state is disposed along the outer
surface of the pipe body P so as to have an arc shape and is flush
with the surface contact portion 4a so as to serve as a part of the
surface contact portion 4a. In addition, an ultrasound
transmitting/receiving element 4h that transmits and receives an
ultrasonic beam by a piezoelectric element like a piezo element is
attached on a top surface 4g of the ultrasound transmitting body
4e.
For example, the top surface 4g of the ultrasound transmitting body
4e is orthogonal to a centerline of the element fixing portion 4b,
and thus the top surface 4g, on which the transmitting/receiving
element 4h is attached, and the underside 4f to which an ultrasonic
beam B is incident in an oblique direction with respect to the pipe
body P are not parallel and are non-parallel to each other at a
predetermined angle.
Hence, the center of the underside 4f of the ultrasound
transmitting body 4e is positioned directly below the shaft 4d of
the element fixing portion 4b, and stress downward from the
peripheral edge portion 3g to the shaft 4d acts toward the center
of the underside 4f.
A lead wire 4i is connected to the transmitting/receiving element
4h, and thus the lead wire 4i is laid out to an outside from a hole
portion 4j in an upper portion through the element fixing portion
4b and is connected to an arithmetic control unit (not
illustrated). Further, a silicon sheet 4k is attached as a soft
elastic member on the surface contact portion 4a including the
underside 4f of the ultrasound transmitting body 4e, for example,
the soft elastic member having flexibility and acoustic impedance
that matches that of a synthetic resin with respect to the
ultrasonic beam B, as necessary, in order to improve a surface
contact state with the pipe body P.
In installing of the transmitter/receiver 4 on the mounter 3, the
transmitting/receiving element 4h, to which the lead wire 4i is
connected, is attached on the top surface 4g of the ultrasound
transmitting body 4e. The transmitter/receiver 4 in which the
ultrasound transmitting body 4e is installed and fixed in the
installation hole 4c of the element fixing portion 4b is inserted
into the through-hole 3c from the lower opening portion 3d of the
contact portion 3a. In this state, as illustrated in FIG. 1, an
upper portion of the transmitter/receiver 4 projects upward from
the upper opening portion 3f of the trapezoidal portion 3b.
The shaft 4d of the transmitter/receiver 4 comes into contact with
an underside of the peripheral edge portion 3g of the mounter 3,
along with insertion of the mounter 3 of the transmitter/receiver 4
into the through-hole 3c, and thus it is not possible to further
insert the transmitter/receiver 4 into the through-hole 3c. In this
state, as illustrated in FIG. 10, the surface contact portion 4a of
the transmitter/receiver 4 including the underside 4f of the
ultrasound transmitting body 4e has a positional relationship in
which the surface contact portion projects to a side of the pipe
body P slightly more than the contact portion 3a of the mounter
3.
When the transmission/reception unit is used, the pair of
transmission/reception units 1 symmetrically abuts the pipe body P
on both sides, grease is applied for smooth transmission of the
ultrasonic beam between the pipe body P and the silicon sheet 4k,
and both sides of the transmission/reception unit 1 are strongly
fixed to the pipe body P by using the fastening bands 2. The
transmission/reception unit 1 of the example is manufactured to be
fitted on an outer diameter of the pipe body P to be used, and thus
the transmitter/receivers 4 of the pair of transmission/reception
units 1 fixed to the pipe body P are disposed at opposite positions
via the pipe body P in an oblique direction.
Both ends of the contact portion 3a of the mounter 3 are slightly
raised upward, and thus both the ends of the contact portion 3a
slightly float from the outer surface of the pipe body P, when the
contact portion 3a abuts the pipe body P. Here, both the ends of
the contact portion 3a are fastened by the fastening bands 2 such
that the mounter 3 is fixed to the pipe body P. Consequently, both
the ends of the contact portion 3a come into close contact with the
pipe body P, the mounter 3 is strongly pressed in the vicinity of a
center thereof to the pipe body P, and a strong pressing force
toward the side of the pipe body P acts on the shaft 4d of the
transmitter/receiver 4 from the peripheral edge portion 3g of the
mounter 3. The surface contact portion 4a of the
transmitter/receiver 4 including the underside 4f of the ultrasound
transmitting body 4e projects to the side of the pipe body P
slightly more than the contact portion 3a of the mounter 3, and
thus the surface contact portion is strongly pressed between the
mounter 3 and the pipe body P.
In addition, the mounter 3 and the transmitter/receiver 4 are
partially deformed to absorb a pushing force due to elasticity of a
material of the mounter 3 and the transmitter/receiver 4, and the
surface contact portion 4a comes into intensely close contact with
the outer surface of the pipe body P while being elastically pushed
into the mounter 3. In particular, a strong pressing force acts on
the underside 4f of the ultrasound transmitting body 4e, the
underside being positioned below the shaft 4d.
The close contact of the underside 4f with the outer surface of the
pipe body P due to such strong press results in smooth transmission
and reception of the ultrasonic beam between the
transmitting/receiving elements 4h via the pipe body P, and
measurement accuracy is improved.
In addition, when the silicon sheet 4k is used, and even through
gaps are partially formed between the outer surface of the pipe
body P and the surface contact portion 4a of the
transmitter/receiver 4, fastening by the fastening bands 2 results
in a partial change in thickness of the silicon sheet 4k such that
it is possible to fill the gaps to some extent, and thus the
transmission of the ultrasonic beam is further smoothly
performed.
As illustrated by a dotted line in FIG. 2, in response to a command
from the arithmetic control unit through the lead wire 4i, the
ultrasonic beam B transmitted from the transmitting/receiving
element 4h of one transmission/reception unit 1 proceeds straightly
in the ultrasound transmitting body 4e from the top surface 4g of
the ultrasound transmitting body 4e, reaches the underside 4f, and
is incident to the fluid from a wall surface of the pipe body P
through the silicon sheet 4k. The ultrasonic beam B is further
propagated in the fluid in the pipe body P in the oblique
direction, is emitted from a wall surface of the pipe body P on an
opposite side, and reaches the transmitting/receiving element 4h
through the silicon sheet 4k and the ultrasound transmitting body
4e of the other transmission/reception unit 1.
In measuring of a flow rate of the fluid in the pipe body P, the
transmitting/receiving elements 4h of the two transmitter/receivers
4 alternately transmit and receive the ultrasonic beams. The
arithmetic control unit measures an arrival time difference between
an ultrasonic beam propagating along flow of the fluid and an
ultrasonic beam propagating against the flow and obtains a flow
speed of the fluid. Further, the arithmetic control unit calculates
the flow rate by multiplying a sectional area of the pipe body P
and the flow speed. A method of calculating the flow speed and the
flow rate is already known as a time difference method of an
ultrasound flowmeter, and thus the description thereof is
omitted.
Incidentally, in the description of the specification, an up-down
direction and a right-left direction are described with reference
to the drawings of the examples, and thus actual members are not
limited to the provided terms.
REFERENCE SIGNS LIST
1 Transmission/reception unit 2 Fastening band 3 Mounter 3a Contact
portion 3b Trapezoidal portion 3c Through-hole 3d Lower opening
portion 3f Upper opening portion 4 Transmitter/receiver 4a Surface
contact portion 4b Element fixing portion 4c Installation hole 4d
Shaft 4e Ultrasound transmitting body 4f Underside 4g Top surface
4h Ultrasound transmitting/receiving element 4i Lead wire 4k
Silicon sheet B Ultrasonic beam P Pipe body
* * * * *